HOUSTON–Transocean Ltd. (RIG, RIGN.VX) said an executive misspoke Tuesday morning when he said that the company expected the U.S. to file more charges against workers of companies involved in the...

Learning from each failure can be costly & time consuming. FMEA is a systematic method of studying failure. This ensures that time is not wasted & the root of the problem is quickly determined. It is used to Identify methods to eliminate or reduce the chance of that failure occuring in the future.

Wärtsilä and Kongsberg Maritime have been contracted to supply the power, positioning, and automation systems for two new drilling rigs ordered by Songa Offshore AS, the Norwegian arm of the...

Hamilton, Bermuda, June 29, 2011 – Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) (Teekay) today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with A2SEA A/S (A2SEA) to jointly develop an innovative vessel...

On April 20th 2011, the one year anniversary of the BP rig explosion, gCaptain was honored to conduct video interviews with many survivors of the Deepwater Horizon. Today’s interview is...

Offshore wind farming has picked up steam during the last decade, with more & more countries installing these gigantic turbines in their coastal waters.  The largest wind farm in the...

As of recently, deepwater self-propelled drilling vessels were considered “MODUs”, or mobile offshore drilling units.  Recent changes to flag state classification rules now classify these vessels as “Dynamic Positioning Vessels”,...

Image: Helix Q4000 on location of MC 252 as it prepares for “Top Kill.” © 2010 BP p.l.c. I met up with a friend recently who works as Chief Mate...

Here you are, fresh out of the academy with your watch keeping ticket, & you are looking to get the additional DP endorsement. Or perhaps you have been at sea for 20 years & feel its time to try something new. Or maybe you can just see which way the wind is blowing.

I recently wrote an article on the Future Of DP Systems but apparently left out an important technology; inertial navigation. These systems have long been in use by submarines and...

It is not a secret that my favorite Dynamic Positioning Systems manufacturer is Kongsberg Maritime. Why? Because, despite the fact their DP Systems run off common windows based desktop computers,...

As positioning capabilities have been improved to the point where a vessel can now sit on a (virtual) dime, the focus now shifts towards refinement. Making vessels more efficient is not only the right thing to do for the environment, it also makes good business sense. As legislation continually moves towards stricter emission controls, companies that are taking the initiative now will remain ahead of the curve, staying competitive in the process.

This week we are going to look at a particular DP function, when using the Kongsberg system. Although it is a fairly simple point it is one that can still cause some confusion, even for some experienced operators. That function is changing the ships heading while the center of rotation (COR) is is offset from the vessels center of gravity (CG).

Joining a new vessel can be a very exciting time. There are new people to meet, tasks to complete & food to eat! You may already have experience with the type of work that vessel performs, or it may be completely new to you. Either way, it is up to you to become familiar with the ship and the onboard culture as quickly as possible.

Commercial Diving is a major component of life in the offshore industry, with divers performing much of the subsea work.  To better understand how the dive team accomplishes what they...

Heavy Lift This serious operation has a large potential for disaster should something go wrong. Setting large suction piles or even an entire accomodation unit on top of a platfrom is a precision job that requires precise technology.

Part 4 in our series continues on with a look at Dynamic Positioning and how it is used on more conventional, deep sea vessels. Make sure to look at Part...

Moving on with our series; What Jobs Are Done With DP? Make sure to read Part 1 & Part 2 as well!  All comments are welcome. Pipe Lay Laying Pipe...

Part 2 in our series about the jobs that are done with Dynamic Positioning Vessels.  You can view the first part of the series HERE. ROV Boats Another important task...

What kind of work is done using Dynamic Positioning? What started out as a technology designed to position drillships in deep water has trickled down through the offshore industry & can now be found installed on all types of vessels. It is being used today in capacities never imagined back when it was first invented. In this series we will take a look at how the technology is being utilized & some examples of ships on which it is installed.